jitterbug127

Nice! I have been looking at that tranx 301b for months. I might end up with it eventually

Has anyone used a lews bb1 pro as a swimbait reel? Buddy of mine has one he’d be willing to trade me for different reel.

Nice job man!!’

Poor thread is dead as a doornail. I will do better post in it in 2026.

I have emailed the pictures to myself and gmail resized to medium or large will work to post pictures.

I bought or traded for 8 new rods and reels this winter. I have been mentally sorting out which combo to throw each lure on. I have a Dobyns Kaden 735CB i bought and thought I'd try throwing chatterbaits on it. Anyone have experience using chatterbaits/jackhammers on the 735CB? Rob

I go with my gut in situations like this. Guy is giving off bad vibes and being pushy I'd just never talk to him again.

Do you want to give it to him?

Yeah I’m more worried about dialing in the baitcaster and getting a feel for the rod than the first catch. I’ll throw the lightest and heaviest lures I think I’ll use and see how that works.

I caught a few smallies around 2.5-3 lbs this year. Nothing remarkable enough at the time to weigh. Green pumpkin tube.

Welcome to BR. You’ve picked a great place to learn.

Nothing beats a float down river with 1-2 rods. Its the simplest and most productive fishing I do. Causes me to get creative and cover a bunch of water in a hurry. I fell in love with bronzebacks in a kayak. Kayak fishing is the foundation for all the fishing I've done since.

Very nice! If i didn't have a 4 year son that fishes with me I'd very well be inclined to get a fancy kayak.

I LOVE fishing out of a kayak. To this day still my favorite way to get out. I lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and was able to fish out of the kayak anytime I wanted. I'd say for me it was a step above the beating the bank which opened up way more places to fish. I also love smallies, and a kayak can go in about 4" of water like it's nothing. I'd like to get a jet boat, but I'm probably still 15 years away from being able to afford on of those (my goal is to get one by the time I'm 50, 36 now). I like a barebones kayak that weighs next to nothing. Just throw it in the water and go. I don't understand the appeal of trolling motor, fish finders, batteries etc on kayaks but I haven't tried it yet either. I'd rather have my aluminum boat for that stuff.

I have been running the LiFePO4 batteries! the light weight and long run times are game changers.

Have a wonderful season! I have a feeling lots of new PBs will be set in 2026.

I've used those hank parker rods off and on the last 3 years. Very nice rods for the money. The 6' 10" medium/fast if my favorite. Good jerkbait and topwater rod. I threw square bills and lipless on it as well. It was my one stop shop treble hook/cranking rod on the river many trips. Not great at anything but pretty good at everything. I liked spinnerbaits/chatterbaits/texas rigs on the 7 medium heavy/fast. It's a good but i never loved it. The 6' 10" medium spinning rod is a good do everything spinning rod. Tubes, neds and wacky worms. I like the shorter length and it had pretty good balance.

I like shorter rods in a kayak but it’s more because of where I fish. River with current. We float under lots of low hanging limbs and in heavy current I don’t have time to lay them all down and back up, 7 4 on a lake no problem. i also like a shorter rod for relining a rod in the kayak. If my line breaks off and I’ve gotta run line through the eyelets a 74 gets pretty difficult try to do in my sit down only kayak. I’ve have to like drop the rod tip in the water or something really silly to do it.

I have tried to become a Tuesday-Thursday morning exclusive fisherman myself. Indianapolis is full of horrible drivers and even worse boaters. I’m an RN and the girls almost never mind trading me a my weekday shifts for one of their Saturdays.

I did a search and didn’t see this one anywhere. Have any of yall used the Plano hook box? I got one for Christmas and so far seems like it will be nice.

The one that sticks out off the top of my head is we got all the way to the lake and I forgot the trolling motor in the garage. It was about a 2 hour drive 1 way. I didn't own an outboard at the time. This was my only means of propulsion. It was a busy holiday weekend anyways, so we just went back home. My buddy wasn't happy.

I think I've bought 7 new reels in the last couple months. My decision making process was piggybacked off previous experience and knowledge. In 2016 or 2017 I bought my first Shimano Curado i 7.4:1 and really loved it. A few months later I bought a Shimano Curado K 8.5:1 and not long after that I bought a 6.2:1. I used these 3 reels from 2017 up until 2025 caught a bunch of fish with them. I had a bad fishing season for 2025, so I plan to expand my techniques, locations, knowledge, and abilities in 2026. This of course means new gear. I wanted reels that could cast smaller lures better. I really love my curado K reels, but they have never been worth a darn at finesse at least for me. It was pretty straightforward to work into Curado 71 and 151 sizes with experience using curado reels. And for the "new" spinning reel i bought i literally bought another of the the same thing I already had. Spinning reels I like a big knob to turn/a 2500 size spool and the anti reverse/freespool function. I have a couple older pflueger supreme reels that fit this. Curado mgl 71 hg curado mgl 71 xg curado mgl 151 curado mgl 151 hg curado mgl 151 hg slx dc 151 xg pflueger supreme 8230 I kept my curado k 6.2 and a Pflueger supreme.

Rest in peace Tom! I’ve talked to Tom on here several times and he has simply been the best. He just sent me his cosmic clock a few weeks ago. I never met him in person but really liked the guy. I’d say the only way I can properly honor his legacy is to try to catch some big girls in 2026. His wife will be in my families prayers.

6 8 medium/xtra fast is the rod I bought for jerkbaits The 7 3 medium heavy/moderate covers it.

I have gone through this fall and redone my arsenal. I’m thinking I’ve got it all covered but wanted to see if there was anything yall would add? I fish mostly for smallies and we go hit up a few different lakes when time and weather allows. Rods 7’6” medium light/fast spinning 6’8 medium/xtra fast spinning 7 medium/fast casting 7 medium heavy/xtra fast casting 7 3 heavy/fast casting 6 8 medium/xtra fast 7 3 medium/moderate 73 medium heavy/moderate 7 10 heavy/fast swimbait rod i also have a 8 6 heavy/fast musky rod if i got huge swimbait.